Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐
☆☆☆GOLDEN☆☆☆
Taipei restaurant offering: Dumplings / Noodles / Pot Stickers / Steamed Buns / Wontons / Soup / Stir-fried Vegetables / Fried Rice / Sticky Rice Wraps / Dessert / Appetizers / Beer / Wine / Soda / Kaoliang Liquor
Address of 1st location:
No. 194, Sec. 2, Xinyi Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106
台北市臺北市信義路二段194號
Phone: (02) 2321-8928
Hours: Mon - Fri 10am - 9pm, Sat & Sun: 9am - 9pm
Last Reviewed: 25 September 2016
Bellevue, USA, Address:
Lincoln Square, 700 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: 425-698-1095
Hours: Mon - Fri 11am - 11pm, Sat & Sun: 10am - 11pm
I ate at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 a long time ago, but thought I should do a review on it for Taipei new-comers who might not be familiar with it. I've included pictures from the Din Tai Fung Bellevue (a city right by Seattle) location, and videos of that same location and a location near Los Angeles to make this review interesting for people who are familiar with Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.
Din Tai Fung started as a cooking oil retail business in 1958. It wasn't until 1972 that they transitioned into a steamed dumpling and noodle restaurant. Their first location opened up on Xinyi Road (pictures of this location are below). In 1993 an article in the New York Times rated Din Tai Fung as one of the top ten gourmet restaurants in the word, the only Taiwanese- or Chinese-run restaurant on the list. In 2010 the Hong Kong Din Tai Fung location was awarded one Michelin Star, which was very special since no other Taiwanese restaurant had achieved this honor before. Din Tai Fung has locations overseas in these countries: Japan, USA, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, China, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. You could say that Din Tai Fung is the Starbucks of dumplings; they may be world-renowned and more expensive than their competitors, but unlike Starbucks, their product tastes excellent. You can find some other dumpling restaurants in Taipei that are just as good as Din Tai Fung, and have better items besides dumplings, both of which at a cheaper price. But at least Din Tai Fung is honoring dumplings and Taiwan by providing delicious dumplings and noodles around the world; whereas Starbucks is giving coffee a bad name across the world, for those who know better at least. Din Tai Fung also needs to be commended on their consistent quality, both in Taiwan and abroad; one always can rely on getting delicious dumplings and noodles at Din Tai Fung.
Now I'll talk about Din Tai Fung's American locations. At the time of this review there were six locations in the USA: two in the Seattle area and four in the Los Angeles area, placing all the USA locations in or very near only two major US cities. Therefore, while I was back in The States, I considered myself very lucky to have been able to dine at a Din Tai Fung location close to my hometown: the Bellevue location that's right next to Seattle. It's no surprise that Din Tai Fung chose to focus on these two US cities: They both have high Asian populations, a lot of them being wealthy enough to not mind the prices at Din Tai Fung, which actually aren't that bad considering how dining-out in America is more expensive than Taiwan anyway. I found the food at the Bellevue location to be just as good as the locations in Taiwan. The only difference was that the dumplings' outside encasing was a bit drier; this must be because Taiwan is probably one of the most humid countries in the world, which keeps food from drying out -- food in Taiwan goes from good to soggy and molding quickly instead of good to dry. Their recipes and techniques aren't that intricate, so it's no surprise that they can duplicate it almost perfectly. I only saw Asians working at the Bellevue location; I'm pleased to say that there weren't any white dudes or Mexicans in the kitchen throwing together dumplings. Also, the customers were 85% Asian, so it was kind of like being back in Taipei. However, the illustrious, immaculate decor quickly reminded me that I was in America.
Vegetarian options: Look at the English menu below in the picture section to find the vegetarian items.
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Click pictures for prices and critiques
Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 website (includes all global locations)
Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 USA website
Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 Facebook page
Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 Bellevue Facebook page
The Seattle Times review of Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐
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First location's address:
No. 194, Sec. 2, Xinyi Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106 台北市臺北市信義路二段194號 Phone: (02) 2321-8928 Hours: Mon - Fri 10am - 9pm Sat & Sun: 9am - 9pm Chinese & English Menu Average 10 Dumplings Price: NT$220 Cash Only 10% Service Charge Reservations Accepted Click on the link below for their Google Map page for the street view and/or other visitor's photos. Afterwards, you can click the dedicated back button on Google Maps to view the destination on a full-screened Google Map for directions. Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 |
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Address:
Lincoln Square 700 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 Phone: 425-698-1095 Hours: Mon - Fri 11am - 11pm, Sat & Sun: 10am - 11pm English & Chinese Menu Average 10 Dumplings Price: $10.50 USD (NT$340) Credit Cards Accepted (of course, it's America) No Reservations (WTF? That's very abnormal in America; I guess they want to bring the whole Taiwan line-waiting experience to America) Click on the link below for their Google Map page for the street view and/or other visitor's photos. Afterwards, you can click the dedicated back button on Google Maps to view the destination on a full-screened Google Map for directions. Din Tai Fung in Bellevue |
Anje's Let's View The World takes you through the Din Tai Fung experience at their first location in Xinyi.
Liane Hung's episode of Seattle Weekend that covers IKEA and Din Tai Fung in Bellevue (where I also dined), which is near Seattle.
Joy Osmanski's Hungry? City Guides takes you through the experience of eating at Din Tai Fung at one of their Arcadia locations near Los Angeles.
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